O Henry is one of the famous American realistic short story writers. His novels expose the darkness of capitalism from all angles, describe the life and suffering of the people at the bottom of society, and praise their sincere love and friendship, noble behavior of self-sacrifice and yearning for a happy life. His novel ends in the form of comedy, expressing profound social connotation, cruel social reality and sublimation of human nature, and further pointing out the inevitability of this reality. This paper discusses the reflection and function of the thought-provoking artistic effect of O Henry's ending in his novels.
O'Henry-style ending means that at the end of an article's plot, the psychological status of the characters suddenly changes unexpectedly, or the fate of the protagonist suddenly reverses, resulting in unexpected results, but it is reasonable and realistic, thus creating unique artistic charm.
O Henry wrote 300 short stories and one novel in his life. Famous short stories include The Gift of the Magi, The Police and Hymns, The Last Vine and so on. Taking his novels "Police" and "Hymns" as examples to talk about this art, looking at the whole text, Soapy made several troubles and tried to settle down in prison, but it was always "unlucky". When soapy was influenced by the hymn and wanted to turn over a new leaf, the police put him in prison for "unwarranted" charges. Just when everyone thought Soapy would spend his life safely, the police appeared and took him to court. This is a typical "O 'Henry-style ending", just like seeing the dawn people fall into darkness again, which makes the reader's heart twitch, memorable, thought-provoking and unforgettable. And O 'Henry used this method well, which profoundly reflected the reality that good and evil are inseparable in society.
The artistic effect of "O Henry's Ending" may not only appear at the end of the novel, but also in the plot of the article. For example, there are two plots in the police and hymns; Once, Soapy tried to go to prison by flirting with a woman. But this seemingly "quiet" woman hooked up with Soapy in turn. On another occasion, Soapy took an umbrella from a well-dressed customer, but it was originally "taken in the wrong place". "Simple and quite likable" women and "well-dressed" customers give people a sense of dignity, but they become prostitutes and thieves. I believe that readers will find this plot incomprehensible, but when they think about it carefully, such "hypocrites" are everywhere in the real society. The so-called aristocratic members of the upper class are well-dressed, elegant and noble? But in fact, they just hide their despicable behavior under the veil of beauty. It is precisely because of the inner filth that the surface decoration is more needed. Therefore, duplicity is also understandable. The End of O Henry profoundly reveals the deteriorating world trend of capitalist society in a humorous way.
The artistic effect of "O'Henry's Ending" is also vividly displayed in his famous masterpiece "The Gift of Maggie". A young couple, Della and Jim, bought their most beautiful Christmas present and a gold watch handed down from family, a platinum chain, a gold watch and a comb with beautiful hair for each other. When they took out their gifts respectively, love shone and wetted the readers' eyes. At the end of the article, he said, "It is very unwise for him to sacrifice the most precious thing in their family for each other. However, let me say one last sentence to the wise today. Of all the gift givers, those two are the cleverest. Among all the people who give and receive gifts, people like them are also the cleverest. Wherever they are, they are the smartest people. " A few simple sentences tell the true meaning of the artistic effect of "O'Henry Ending", and guide readers to think about the space outside the article, so as to get the true meaning of readers' own life. Looking for a lover in the room where she once lived and being summoned by the soul, she asked the owner but couldn't find such a person. She ended her young life in despair in the same way as her lover. I wonder if the landlord will feel a little guilty or uneasy when cleaning the next day. The artistic effect of The Ending of O Henry attracts readers to think about what is love, what is conscience and what is survival. The article "Rooms with Furniture for Rent" takes this opportunity to ask questions to readers. He loved her, so he tried his best to find her and ended his life in despair. Whether this commitment to life and death still exists in today's "fast food love" and whether it can still impress your love concept. What is conscience? Be honest and trustworthy, or be worthy of yourself. If conscience threatened your survival, who would you choose? The shopkeeper chose to live, and he was not wrong. He wants to live, too. How can he live if he doesn't rent out the house and cheat the young man? The death of the young man, the death of her lover and the deception of the shopkeeper were all caused by the society at that time. Darkness, chaos, floating and hunger all affect people's lives. To survive, there is only one city. O Henry used this article to attack the dark social reality at that time and tried to arouse people's thoughts and thinking.
The article is written by people, so the influence of the environment on the author cannot escape. O Henry's life is legendary. He worked as a pharmacy apprentice, journalist and bank teller, and went into exile in Honduras to avoid trouble. Later, he was arrested and imprisoned for going home to visit his dying wife, and began to write seriously as a pharmacist in the prison infirmary. 190 1 After his early release, he moved to new york to specialize in writing. O Henry is good at describing American society, especially the life of new york people. So we are well aware of the hardships and difficulties of people's lives. Therefore, his articles like to describe stories in the world with simple and humorous language, and also like to use twists and turns to arouse readers' thinking about human nature in society, thus forming the famous "O 'Henry-style ending", which makes the protagonist's fate suddenly reverse and has unexpected results, but it is reasonable and in line with the reality of life, thus causing unique artistic charm. My thesis only discusses the embodiment and function of the artistic effect of "O'Henry's ending" in his own articles through several of his famous works.